I’ve just completed my first 29029 “everesting” event- it’s a monster hike where you complete a certain number of ascents with your total elevation gain = 29029 feet, or the height of Everest.

For me this event meant REDEMPTION 🔥 after being hit last summer and missing out on ALL of the events I’d paid for and planned on, this one (if it went well) was to be my personal signal that I am on my road to recovery and making my comeback 💪🏼

I chose this event back in December because with this new knee of mine I knew hike up- gondola-down could be a really great combo for me. Plus it seemed like a new audacious goal wayyyyy outside of the 📦 of my norm endeavors/conquests. Here there are no winners or podiums - you either finish and get your red hat, or you don’t.

52.42% of the 250 participants got the hat.

I hiked & prepped a lot but I’ll tell you after that 1st ascent I wondered if I’d done enough. …ascent after ascent I kept meeting the 🏔️ and giving it my best.

After 9 climbs on Friday I decided to stop at 830pm and get some sleep. (You’ve got 36 hours to get the 13 ascents in and you can stop whenever you want). After some amazing rest I went back out for four more today and finished at noon.

I’ll be honest, the uber competitive part of me wanted to see if I could “crush” all 13… and it was hard to go to bed walking away from being one of just a few people with nine accents. I knew I’d wake up to people way ahead of me. And you know what- I prioritized myself and my wellness and rest and I put myself to bed. Not ONE regret.

The boards don’t show finishing times… so I worked on dialing down my “crush it” and turned up my “bring maximum stoke.” Finished it off with a jog to the finish and collected my red hat.

I’ve been absolutely BLOWN away by this event and the caliber of the staff & volunteers & aid stations & accommodations.

I didn’t stay in the 🛖 since I’ve got the 🚐 and Ramsey 🐶 but the tents looked amazing. The food has been stellar and truly just feeling like a rockstar with all the cheers and all-round stoke has made this an event I’ll def recommend to others. *It’s not cheap but you get lodging and meals as well as a top notch event.

Don’t underestimate the challenge- the 🏔️ is humbling. People are going home without hats and I’ll tell you what— I never once took for granted that I would either. I’m dealing with new body parts & hardware that’s only a year old; it was all new to me seeing how my body handled this long event. I was super happy it went so well. 🙏🏼— #getbusyliving #29029everesting #29029 #onelifetolive❤️

photos:

The trip began with a stop at blue Mesa reservoir for a night; I’ve wanted to check this out and now that the water levels are topped off I wanted to see it in its full splendor !

Then it was on to Snow Basin, Utah … (a spot I’ve not been to before) … some pics of the venue and setup:

Day one: we started at 6am. Amazing to see everyone with their headlights on and to feel the nervous energy !!! I logged nine ascents and stopped at about 830 to sleep.

After some solid sleep Friday night, I started my final four ascents around 630am Saturday and finished by noon.

I showered and laid down for an hour to let my back recover and then rode the gondola up to the top with Ramsey to cheer on the finishers who were under the gun to get their final ascent in by 6pm. So inspiring 🙌 the volunteers at this event bring MAXIMUM enthusiasm— oh my gosh they all cheered so hard for all of us 🙏🏼

The event finished with an awards ceremony and recap video - so good.

Watch the recap video here

We wrapped up the trip with a second stay at Blue Mesa res on the way home; this time on the west side (before we stayed towards the east end). It’s absolutely GORGEOUS!!!!!

A special SPECIAL thanks and shout-out to volunteer Pip, a dog-loving goddess, who volunteered to let Ramsey hang out with her near the ascent boards at the base so that Ramsey could be part of the action and not stuck in the van alone. Pip is truly an Angel 😇!!! 🙏🏼

Event recap